When you consume lots of sugar and have higher levels of insulin on a continuing basis, your cells try to protect you and eventually start resisting or ignoring insulin. Remember, insulin is the key that allows glucose into the cell. So, your cells prevent insulin from working in order to prevent excessive sugar in the cell. This is your body saying, “If you’re going to keep eating sugar, I will block it at the cellular level.”
With a ketosis diet, you tend to eliminate more calcium than usual. Additionally, foods such as cruciferous vegetables, spinach, iced tea or chocolate all have a high quantity of oxalates. Oxalates are naturally occurring substances found in a wide variety of foods; they play a supportive role in the metabolism of many plants and animals, including humans. Oxalates combined with calcium can cause kidney stones.
Here's the reality: A high carb diet drives up blood sugar and insulin levels. All that sugar and insulin are inflammatory. The standard American diet offers lots of foods that are high sugar AND high in saturated fat, and in studies, these two factors were lumped together. So although saturated fat is healthy, it got the blame for the inflammation that causes heart disease because it was studied in combination with a high carb diet. A ketogenic diet plan which is high in saturated fat and very low in carbohydrate will REDUCE inflammation. (Reference here.)
We don’t use prepackaged foods in the meal plans, so you do have to cook, but I’m all about convenience and saving time! And, the plans are designed for that. You’ll re-purpose leftovers and meal prep for lunch, so you don’t have to make your lunch from scratch on a daily basis. Dinner will be a fast, easy recipe each night, with one night for either going out or leftovers. For breakfast you’ll have the option of making a meal prep recipe, drinking coffee or fasting, because we’re split on that in the low carb and keto community.

I’m starting the Keto diet tomorrow, and I am making my list to go to Walmart. I don’t really know where to start such as snack foods. With me being a full time student and working full time, it seems hard to plan out my meals and snacks like what I need to snack on and eat. I definitely need advice and tips on how to help stay on track and get started, any help is greatly appreciated!

Some benefits of going keto are difficult to dispute. Following a high-fat, low-carb diet can be a solid strategy for rapid weight loss and blood-sugar control. The keto diet can also be great for children with tough-to-control epileptic seizures. For decades, people have seen stellar results managing those conditions on a keto diet with the help and guidance of professionals.

Each person is different with different health goals and macronutrient requirements (ie, weight loss, weight maintenance, brain therapy aid). Each day of our weight loss meal plan falls between 1150-1300 calories for maximum weight loss. There is an optional snack for people that need a bit more calories, which brings the total calories with snack to between 1300-1500 calories per day. In addition, there are various ways you can adjust for your personal macronutrient needs.
The first modern study of fasting as a treatment for epilepsy was in France in 1911.[12] Twenty epilepsy patients of all ages were "detoxified" by consuming a low-calorie vegetarian diet, combined with periods of fasting and purging. Two benefited enormously, but most failed to maintain compliance with the imposed restrictions. The diet improved the patients' mental capabilities, in contrast to their medication, potassium bromide, which dulled the mind.[13]

Imagine that you have found an assortment of keto snacks that are absolutely delicious, and they fit perfectly into your lifestyle. You always have them with you, prepared for hunger to strike. On some days, you won’t feel hungry at all, so there will be no need to snack. On other days, however —due to a variety of factors (e.g., fat loss, stress, lack of sleep) — your appetite will be ravenous. Nothing will seem to satiate you. Cheese, bacon, avocado, peanut butter — nothing will make you feel full.

Hunger is one way to know if you’re in fat burning, because the longer you do keto, the less hungry you’ll be.39,40 If you’re getting severe hunger with weakness and brain fog, you’re not quite into keto. Back off a bit. Don’t be doing 20-hour fasts. You need more fuel to give your body the energy it needs, and that includes energy to manufacture the enzymes to burn fat instead of glucose. Take it slow, add more fat to your first meal, and eat nutrient-dense foods. If you need more nutrients, try adding some nutritional yeast and electrolytes, and major amounts of potassium. These will help you fix insulin resistance and help you get into fat burning. Bone broth is great for a snack. It’s just nutrients without calories, period.
Most people have probably heard of the Atkins diet, which is a pretty general take on ketogenic eating. Wildly popular in the 70s and again in the 90s, Atkins and the low-carb diet are one of the best ways to lose weight. In fact, one of the biggest benefits to low carb eating is that it is a very efficient way to lose weight without much effort. The combination of filling meals that reduce overeating and the fact that, when you’re in ketosis your body burns stored fat for energy makes this an ideal diet for people whose primary goal is fat loss.
This bread has a few more carbs than you might be eating, but each bite is worth it, particularly if you have low potassium. The ingredients are simple: bananas (not too ripe), almond flour, walnuts, eggs, olive oil and baking soda. But you’ll be impressed by the scrumptious loaf that comes out of your oven. A warm slice of this with a pat of grass-fed butter makes a tasty keto snack or breakfast.

The low glycaemic index treatment (LGIT)[48] is an attempt to achieve the stable blood glucose levels seen in children on the classic ketogenic diet while using a much less restrictive regimen. The hypothesis is that stable blood glucose may be one of the mechanisms of action involved in the ketogenic diet,[9] which occurs because the absorption of the limited carbohydrates is slowed by the high fat content.[5] Although it is also a high-fat diet (with approximately 60% calories from fat),[5] the LGIT allows more carbohydrate than either the classic ketogenic diet or the modified Atkins diet, approximately 40–60 g per day.[3] However, the types of carbohydrates consumed are restricted to those that have a glycaemic index lower than 50. Like the modified Atkins diet, the LGIT is initiated and maintained at outpatient clinics and does not require precise weighing of food or intensive dietitian support. Both are offered at most centres that run ketogenic diet programmes, and in some centres they are often the primary dietary therapy for adolescents.[9]

For example; if you get into ketosis and release your stored fat in your fat cells, there is a chance you could end up with a fatty liver since all these fat flowing out has to come out through the liver. The way to prevent this is to consume larger quantities of vegetables or salad as a way of keeping your liver flushed of fat. A recent study, in fact, found that the ketogenic diet reduced fat on the liver, inflammation, and fibrosis.6
To help your busy lifestyle, we include grocery lists with each of our keto meal plans. We include a 7 day weekly grocery list for each week. The grocery list will include everything you need for the following 7 days of the menu (except the "stock" or "common" ingredients like condiments). Our weekly grocery list comes with quantities for feeding ONE person. You can either multiply for additional people, or use the Meal Plan Software to do it for you.
Be flexible. We don’t know your personal goal, your budget, your cooking skills, what your favorite foods are or what foods you don’t like to eat so we cannot personalize the meal plan just for you. This plan is just to give you ideas of what to cook for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. So please feel free to adjust and personalize it to make it work for you.
One of the meals you will see recurring frequently in the meal plan is a Cobb Salad. We are big advocates for the Cobb Salad! You know us… shills for Corporate Cobb Salad. Really though, we find Cobb Salads to be a great way to get a meal with perfect keto macros as well as pack in some much needed micro-nutrients. We love them so much we made a video to show everyone how we make them! For this meal plan you’ll be making a salad just like the one in this video minus the shredded cheese:

Hi Kelly, All packaged foods will have a nutrition label that list the macros per serving, including fat, protein and cabrohydrates. Net carbs, which is what most people look at for low carb and keto, are total carbs (the amount on the label) minus fiber and sugar alcohols, as explained in the article above. I have a low carb food list here that gives you a full list of all the foods you can eat, and the net carbs in each. You can also sign up above to be notified about the meal plans, which are a great way to get started.

The whole chicken we got was $1 per pound, which is a great deal! You can sub in thighs or legs if you find those to be cheaper. Try to get it with the skin on so your meat comes with some fat! In the videos we got 2 pounds of sausage at $3 per pound. That’s a deal we couldn’t pass up! You can substitute any sausage in for that(check for sugar) or you can opt for ground beef. Make sure you get 80/20 fat/protein ratio or higher(it will be listed on the packaging).
This is important because one of the primary triggers of insulin is eating. I am not talking about taking your supplements or drinking tea or even one cup of coffee in the morning but eating five to six times a day—and let’s not forget, snacking will spike insulin even if it’s healthy food. The more frequent the eating, the more there is chronic elevation of insulin, leading to insulin resistance.
Lemon juice contains citrates (the substance that gives citrus fruits their sour taste). When you’re low on citrates, you’re at risk for kidney stones. Add the lemon juice to your kale shake or drink it in water. Try to consume at least one lemon per day (lemon juice or the fruit of the lemon).34 I also recommend taking my electrolyte mix because it contains minerals in their citric form, as in potassium citrate, helping to bind oxalate stones and neutralize uric-acid stones.35,36

Fiber isn't just good for keeping your gut moving — scientists feeding diets rich in fiber to mice are discovering that the carbs, which can't be absorbed by the body, can help protect aging brains from some of the damaging chemicals associated with Alzheimer's and reduce inflammation in the gut. They're confident that the health benefits of eating more fiber extend to humans too.

What’s going on is your body is trying to adjust to fat burning. So, this is a good thing. What you need to do is concentrate on getting more vitamins in the diet. Now, the one nutrient you need a lot of to keep the fatigue away and to help you in the metabolism is B5. B5 also helps the adrenals and metabolism along, and keeps that fatigue away. Promise!
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
Eggs are a standout snack because they have one of the lowest energy-to-nutrient-density ratios of any food, as is noted in an article published in August 2016 in the journal Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. They’re rich in good fats (so long as you don’t skip the yolk!) and a solid source of high-quality protein: Each egg has 5 grams (g) of fat, 6 g of protein, and 0 g of carbohydrates, according to the Egg Nutrition Center. Plus, they’re inexpensive — about 20 cents per egg, the center says. Keep several hard-boiled eggs in your fridge, so you can easily grab one when you’re in need of a nutritious snack.

Jalali recommends that her clients work with a medical professional who is familiar with the diet to get the best results. "I do not think most of the general population would benefit from a ketogenic diet, although it can be very beneficial for some. The diet can be extremely challenging to stay compliant on long term so I find that clients who are very motivated and have a strong support system seem to be most successful."

Since this is my full-time job, donations really help me keep afloat and allow me to post as much to the website as I do. While I do really appreciate any donation you want to give, you can enter $0 in the amount given to download it for free! I’ve added in $5 as the suggested price. I think that’s a very fair price considering other websites are charging in the hundreds of dollars and I’ve seen what they are like on the inside.
The wildly popular Crack Chicken is actually pretty simple in its ingredient list: chicken, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, scallion, and Ranch seasoning! The end result is creamy and rich, and packed with flavor. It’s proof that a recipe doesn’t have to be complicated to taste great. Crack Chicken is deliciously addictive, which is where the name comes from.
This is the only way my kids will eat Brussels sprouts! It’s actually great for me because this dish is fast, easy and healthy, and it makes a lovely side. Quick-cooking Brussels sprout halves are available in the prepackaged salad aisle at the grocery store. They’re a timesaver if you can find them, but you can always just buy whole ones and slice them in half. —Teri Rasey, Cadillac, Michigan
These nachos use the trendy Fat Head pizza crust as the “nachos” with a Tex-Mex twist, substituting cilantro, cumin and chili for the rosemary and garlic in the pizza base. After you cut them into tortilla shapes, you’ll load them with a meaty sauce and finish off the nachos with your favorite toppings, like guacamole, jalapeños and salsa. They’re the perfect snack to enjoy with family on movie night.
Protein is the other type that can also prevent you from getting into ketosis IF it’s too high. It is generally recommended that you keep your protein intake between 3-6 ounces per meal. High-protein diets, as in the Atkins Diet, can keep you from getting into ketosis. This is because your liver can only process a certain amount of protein. Anything more than around 30 grams per meal will then be converted into glucose (sugar). So, ketosis is NOT a high protein diet. It is a moderate protein diet. We need some protein for supporting our structural body parts and their replacement. This includes muscle, joints, hair, nails, skin, and organs.
I love Urban Remedy but this meal plan has been my least favorite of everything I have tried here, which I have been doing cleanses and plans from Urban Remedy for over 2 years. I like the breakfast. It is lean but filling. The juices for the morning are nice. The protein additions to the lunches and dinners are perfect as well. I have to admit I did not love the Thai Noodles, and I really generally like zucchini noodles. I hated the Matcha bar, and was really excited to try it. I couldn’t bring myself to drink the MCT Oil, though I don’t doubt its benefit. I will unlikely be re-ordering this plan but go back to others that I like better.
In regimented keto diets, only 10% of total calories per day (about a measly 20 grams!) come from carbs, 20% from protein, and a whopping 70% from fats. Since our bodies preferentially use carbs for energy, cutting them means we have to use something else to keep organs functioning. Our bodies then turn to the glucose stored in our muscles as glycogen for fuel.
The low-carb “breading” on these tenders produces a crispy exterior just like your favorite restaurant chicken tenders. You’ll first dip each chicken piece in an egg-and-cream wash, then dip it into seasoned almond flour, which is gluten-free and contains no grains. You’ll bake the chicken to perfection and then sauce the tenders to order. Best of all, this method works great anytime you want crispy chicken, saucy or not!
Normal dietary fat contains mostly long-chain triglycerides (LCT). Medium-chain triglycerides are more ketogenic than LCTs because they generate more ketones per unit of energy when metabolised. Their use allows for a diet with a lower proportion of fat and a greater proportion of protein and carbohydrate,[3] leading to more food choices and larger portion sizes.[4] The original MCT diet developed by Peter Huttenlocher in the 1970s derived 60% of its calories from MCT oil.[15] Consuming that quantity of MCT oil caused abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting in some children. A figure of 45% is regarded as a balance between achieving good ketosis and minimising gastrointestinal complaints. The classical and modified MCT ketogenic diets are equally effective and differences in tolerability are not statistically significant.[9] The MCT diet is less popular in the United States; MCT oil is more expensive than other dietary fats and is not covered by insurance companies.[3]
Fears about fat: Most people have trouble on a ketogenic diet plan because they are scared to increase the amount of fat they eat, especially saturated fat. The message that fat is bad has been pounded into the collective American consciousness for the last 30 years. It's hard to unlearn the message that fat makes you fat, and saturated fat especially is very bad for you. I understand that message has been repeated over and over, but it is a lie.
Lisa, Technically Instant Pot doesn’t recommend cooking frozen chicken breasts; however, when we cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, we usually add an extra 3 to 5 minutes to the cooking time. For the slow cooker, you could add all the ingredients as-is (just cook the bacon on the stove top first, add the bacon fat to slow cooker, and store cooked bacon in the fridge until serving). We recommend cooking on high 3 to 4 hours or cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Think about what’s happening. Your cells are resisting insulin, causing your body to make a lot more. With all this extra insulin in your blood, you could experience low blood sugars. This is called hypoglycemia, a word made from hypo (low) and glycemia (glucose in the blood). Hypoglycemia is caused by too much insulin in the blood and is a prediabetic symptom. Signs of hypoglycemia include cravings for carbs and sweets, being irritable, moody or depressed, having vision problems, being hungry or dizzy, and the list goes on and on. Your brain is the first organ to feel the effects of low blood sugars.
Some ingredients you will already have in your cupboards like seasonings and condiments. We list these out at the beginning of the meal plan. We assume that you'll have them in stock. If you're worried you won't have them all, you can check the meal plan for the daily ingredients as well! There are also some rare ingredients that we suggest you purchase at the beginning of you ketogenic diet journey. You'll begin to use these low carb ingredients in more and more of your keto diet recipes. You can get bargains on items such as almond flour if you purchase ahead online instead of waiting to purchase at the grocery store. In addition, you won't have to wander the health stores for hours in search of these items to find out they don't stock them, or that they are ridiculously over-priced.
This week we’re getting stricter with our fasting. We had a full week of intermittent fasting and now we’re going to skip breakfast and lunch. Water is our BEST friend here! Don’t forget that you can drink coffee, tea, flavored water, and the like to get your liquids in. Keep drinking to make sure you’re not thinking about your stomach. It MIGHT start growling, just ignore it – your body will adjust with time.
You’re very welcome, Judy! I’m glad it’s helpful. If you are keto (as opposed to low carb), unfortunately peaches would not allow you to stay in ketosis. You can check my keto food list to help determine what is keto friendly. Of course, there are worse things than fresh fruit 🙂 but in the end our bodies still see the sugar. That being said, it doesn’t mean you sabotaged the whole day. Just pick up again – you got this!! (And for next time, try some fresh berries in moderation when you’re craving fruit.)
As a result of those satiating fats required by the ketogenic diet, you may find you’re not craving snacks as much as you usually do. “I find people who follow the ketogenic diet, they’re just not as hungry, so their snack frequency comes down,” says Dina Griffin, RDN, with eNRG Performance in Littleton, Colorado. “There’s just so much fat in their diet, so they say, ‘I don’t want to eat again,’ or ‘I can’t, I’m just not hungry.’”

If you’d like to receive different weekly meal plans like this with complete and organized shopping lists, delicious and nutritious breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks recipes as well as tips guaranteed to keep you on track with your keto diet journey, make sure to check the Balanced Keto Weekly Meal Plans program. It will take the guesswork and stress out of your diet and help you create the dream body and great health you’ve always desired and deserved.

A metabolic process called ketogenesis and a body state called ketosis are responsible. Ketosis is simply a normal metabolic pathway in which body and brain cells utilize ketones to make energy, instead of relying on only sugar (i.e., carbohydrate). In fact, humans developed an evolutionary ability to burn ketones as an adaptation to periods of food scarcity.
Variations on the Johns Hopkins protocol are common. The initiation can be performed using outpatient clinics rather than requiring a stay in hospital. Often there is no initial fast (fasting increases the risk of acidosis and hypoglycaemia and weight loss). Rather than increasing meal sizes over the three-day initiation, some institutions maintain meal size but alter the ketogenic ratio from 2:1 to 4:1.[9]
Protein is the other type that can also prevent you from getting into ketosis IF it’s too high. It is generally recommended that you keep your protein intake between 3-6 ounces per meal. High-protein diets, as in the Atkins Diet, can keep you from getting into ketosis. This is because your liver can only process a certain amount of protein. Anything more than around 30 grams per meal will then be converted into glucose (sugar). So, ketosis is NOT a high protein diet. It is a moderate protein diet. We need some protein for supporting our structural body parts and their replacement. This includes muscle, joints, hair, nails, skin, and organs.
The keto diet is one of the most effective that I’ve come across and one of the more straightforward (as opposed to easy!) to follow. In a nutshell, when you’re on a keto diet, you eat a very low-carb, high-fat diet. That means goodbye pasta and bread, hello cheese and oils. It’s pretty much the opposite of what we’ve been taught our entire lives. But it works if you follow the keto diet food list. Plus, you can make many favorite recipes keto-friendly.
Lisa, Yes, it is safe to put cream cheese in the pressure cooker, this is how we always make it. Alternatively, you can add the cream cheese once the chicken is cooked and you take it out of the pot to shred it, but you’ll need to leave the pot on “saute” and cook (stirring frequently) until the cream cheese mixture is melted into the sauce. (You may also need to add a splash more liquid if done this way.) If you try it this way, let us know how it goes!
This doesn’t mean that you can never have some of your favorite foods again. Once you get past the adaptation phase and you have tested that you are in Ketosis, you can start experimenting with Keto versions of the foods you don't want to give up. Here are a few simple Keto recipes to start with. If you're looking for ready-to-eat Keto-friendly options, check out Country Archer Meat Sticks, Cuvee Coffee and FBOMB nut butters.
Yes, too much lean protein—think turkey and chicken—even lean fish—if you’re consuming that and vegetable only, without fat there, you are at risk of throwing yourself out of ketosis. Even eating egg whites without yolks greatly spikes insulin. So look to fatty proteins. Fatty cuts of beef, chicken WITH skin, fattier cuts of beef, lamb, and game. Chuck as opposed to 10% lean sirloin.

All low-carbohydrate vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants that are beneficial for our health. Cruciferous vegetables come with an extra health boost. They contain more vitamin K and A than many other vegetables, this is the reason why we put cruciferous vegetables on the list of top keto foods. The reason why crucifers vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower are at an edge over every other vegetable is because of sulforaphane. Sulforaphane is a compound that is created when we crush or chew cruciferous vegetables. Once it is digested, sulforaphane activates a cytoprotective (cell-protecting) pathway that protects the cells from oxidative stress and removes harmful toxins from the body. This is one of the primary reason why cruciferous vegetable consumption is linked to improved cognitive function and decreased cancer and heart disease risk.

As a result of those satiating fats required by the ketogenic diet, you may find you’re not craving snacks as much as you usually do. “I find people who follow the ketogenic diet, they’re just not as hungry, so their snack frequency comes down,” says Dina Griffin, RDN, with eNRG Performance in Littleton, Colorado. “There’s just so much fat in their diet, so they say, ‘I don’t want to eat again,’ or ‘I can’t, I’m just not hungry.’”

My Husband and I started doing Keto July 2018. We got over weight after we got out of the Marine Corps. It has been hard to workout because I became disabled, but my diet was not good. After our friend Amber recommended your site and support group, we found a lot of helpful information to get us started on a successful journey. So far it’s been one month and we have lost 18 pounds each!

Sleep enough – for most people at least seven hours per night on average – and keep stress under control. Sleep deprivation and stress hormones raise blood sugar levels, slowing ketosis and weight loss a bit. Plus they make much it harder to stick to a keto diet, and resist temptations. So while handling sleep and stress will not get you into ketosis on it’s own, it’s still worth thinking about.